Save Starred Gmail Messages to Google Sheets Instantly ⭐📊
Adam Browder
September 24, 2025
Many professionals star emails to track leads, client requests, or follow-ups. Still, important messages often get buried in a crowded inbox. With Workload, you can send starred Gmail Messages to Google Sheets instantly. This automation creates a clear system for organizing and acting on conversations that matter.
Each starred message includes the sender’s name, email address, subject line, body content, and date received. Workload captures this data and writes it into a new row. With this Save Starred Gmail Messages to Google Sheets automation, the information stays structured, searchable, and ready for reporting or collaboration.
This automation removes copy-paste tasks and reduces mistakes. You save time, respond faster, and never lose track of valuable emails. The result is a lighter inbox, accurate spreadsheets, and a smoother workflow.
🧩 Essentials
✉️ Gmail Account
Manages your email and starred messages.
📈 Google Sheets Account
Stores email details and organizes them as new rows of data.
🤖 Workload Account (free or paid)
Build, run, and manage your automation—no code needed.
💡 Why Automate
⚡ Track Only Important Emails
When you star a message, it logs directly into Google Sheets.
📊 Turn Gmail into a Database
Data lands neatly in rows for quick reference.
✅ Stay Ready for Follow-Ups
Important client requests or leads never get lost in your inbox.
⚙️ Build a Save Starred Gmail Messages to Google Sheets Automation
Apps expect data in different formats—like dates, names, or labels. Workload’s built-in AI Wizard lets you clean or adjust data between steps. If your trigger already sends clean data, you can skip formatting altogether.
Step 1: Create a New Automation (Workload)
Open the Workload dashboard and click Create Workflow.
Enter a name like Starred Gmail to Google Sheets.
Step 2: Set Up the Trigger (Gmail)
In the Trigger box, choose Gmail.
From the events list, pick New Starred Email, then hit Continue.
Sign in to your Gmail account if you haven’t already. For help, follow our step-by-step guide on how to connect Gmail to Workload. Once connected, move forward by clicking Continue.
Click Test Trigger to pull in a sample starred email.
Review the test data, then continue to the next step.
Step 3: Add the Action (Google Sheets)
Click into the action step and select the Google Sheets app.
Choose the event Create Spreadsheet Row, then Continue.
Sign in to your Google Sheets account if it isn’t connected yet. For help, follow our step-by-step guide on how to connect Google Sheets to Workload. After connecting, press Continue.
Pick the spreadsheet and worksheet where starred email details will be logged.
Next, map the fields you want to include from the email into the Google Sheet Row by clicking the + Add to button in the rowData box. Select the column name from the dropdown menu, then choose the data from the trigger you want to add. You will need to do this for each column you want to include in the sheet. For example:
- Email Address → Sender address from Step 2 – Gmail
- Subject → Subject line from Step 2 – Gmail
- Message Content → Body text from Step 2 – Gmail
- Date Received → Date from Step 2 – Gmail
Once you have mapped all of the columns, click Continue.
Hit the test action button to submit the data to a new row.
Once you get successful response, click Continue again.
Open your spreadsheet to confirm a new row was created successfully.
Step 4: Test and Activate (Workload)
Review each step in the Workload editor and confirm that every node has a green indicator. Then, switch the automation toggle to On.
* You now have an active automation that will automatically take starred emails and put the customized data into your Google Sheets worksheet.
🎨 Make It Yours
Want more flexibility or to add your own personal style? Try these customization ideas:
⭐ Track Priority Levels
Use Gmail’s different star colors to mark urgency, then log the color into its own column in Sheets.
📥 Include Full Message Content
Decide whether to capture only the subject and sender, or include the entire body of the email for reference.
📊 Organize by Project Sheet
Route starred emails into different Google Sheets depending on the project or client name in the subject line.
🔗 Log Attachments Separately
Add a column for attachment links so files from starred emails are easy to find in your spreadsheet.
⚡ Expand This Automation Into a Complete Email Tracking System
Once starred Gmail messages are flowing into Google Sheets, you can expand the automation to make it even more useful:
🔔 Alert Your Team in Slack – Send a Slack message whenever a new starred email is logged, so the right people see it instantly.
✅ Create Follow-Up Tasks – Push each starred email into Google Tasks or Todoist with a due date for faster responses.
📧 Auto-Reply with Gmail – Branch the automation to send a personalized response when specific keywords appear in a starred email.
📊 Build Dashboards with Workload Portals – Soon you’ll be able to turn your Google Sheets email log into a live dashboard app connected to your workflow data.
🧠 Learn More
🎓 Workload University – Watch tutorials and learn automations step by step.
🆘 Workload Help Center – Browse setup guides and troubleshooting tips.
📈 More Google Sheets Automations – Discover other ways to streamline spreadsheets.
✉️ More Gmail Automations – Explore additional workflows to manage your inbox.
🎥 Video Walkthrough
Want to see this automation built step by step? Watch the full tutorial on Workload’s YouTube channel.
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